


Training Cut Short

by Legate_of_Apples



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 05:27:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30016806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legate_of_Apples/pseuds/Legate_of_Apples
Summary: What seems to be a regular obstacle course for Horde Cadets goes horribly wrong for Catra. But is everything as it seems...?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	Training Cut Short

Catra noticed something was off when the hand she held to her side became red with blood. It was strange, really, and for a few seconds, before the pain hit, she was surprised with this strange dark liquid. It was so unlike the wounds she remembered… Then again, these were scraped knees, claw cuts, brows bloodied in childish fights, not a gash like this…

Her head swam, her whole side was in pain. Catra sank to her knee and propped herself with the other hard, a pose far too undignified for her liking.

 _As if it has any meaning now_ , some unwelcome voice on the back of her head said. The Horde Cadet scoffed at it angrily and raised her head. She saw the white of Adora's uniform instantly, and saw as she was about to clear the last obstacle, Catra's sacrifice allowing her to do it on time. She hated it. She wished she could make her explode with her glare… Make her…

_Adora._

_Why does it always have to be Adora…_ A question which brought answers Catra would do anything to avoid.

She shook her head, the pain of the movement shocking her. The fur on her left hand was sticky with blood, her side drenched in it. Slowly, pitifully, she rose, decided against straightening her back, and tried to take a step.

She did not notice when the training hall became this cold.

Something gave beneath her. Maybe ground, maybe legs. Stupid legs...

She did not notice when she hit the floor.

Catra's world shivered. Sensations came in scraps. Rough on cheek, metallic smell, and on her tongue, a black tunnel in front of her.

Someone screamed her name, someone shouted, "Stop the training", in panic. The Black tunnel became filled with blue eyes, glossy from fear, wide with incomprehension.

 _You idiot_ , thought Catra, but was not sure she meant Adora or herself.

* * * * * * * * * *

What awoke her was the slow, steady beating of her own heart. Like a person emerging from a tired dream, Catra sluggishly became aware of her senses. Heard her heart, smelled and tasted dry, metallic air, as if coming from some machine. She could feel only something on her face, nothing more, and when she opened her eyes, the world was blurry, greenish, and dark.

 _Like one of Hordak's old laboratories_ , Catra thought, as her brain desperately tried to make sense of what was going on… And then, it did.

She was submerged in some sort of fluid, the thing on her face force feeding her lungs air. Catra tried moving her hands, her legs, and failed. For a brief, panic-filled second she thought she lost them, victims of some sick experiment. But this passed quickly, as she could feel them, just barely.

As she tried to calm her breathing, difficult with a stream of recycled air blowing in your face, she turned her attention outward. The liquid made it impossible to hear anything, but if she focused her sight… yes, this was a laboratory, she recognised the heaps of machinery that Hordak and Entrapta so adored… No, that's not right, she thought, but before the feeling materialized, with a start she noticed a whitish shape sitting on the floor. It must have noticed the movement, as it suddenly stood up.

_Adora?_

As the shape moved closer, Catra saw the golden hair, the pale face, the blue eyes filled with concern, ringed with gray from the lack of sleep. Catra's world became filled with… sorrow? Panic? Shame? She felt exposed, her feelings naked, her failure for all, for Adora, to see. Her breathing intensified, her body tensed. He wanted to scream, to thrash, to crack the glass and show Adora she was ok… or to run, hide, and lick her wounded pride on solitude, as she always did.

 _I'm pathetic_ , she thought, _pathetic and weak…_

Suddenly, the darkness behind Adora grew deeper. A red-gloved hand touched Adora’s shoulder, startling her for a moment. Catra’s and her friend's lips uttered the same name almost simultaneously. Shadow Weaver. Their mentor and caretaker’s eyes and facemask became visible now, and Catra froze in anxiety. As Adora’s face turned to look at the sorceress, Catra could almost hear the words that must have been said…

 _Adoooraaaa_ , Shadow Weaver would draw out her friend’s name, _you should not waste your time here… There is nothing you can do…. And, after all, Catra_ , her name said quickly, like something unpleasant, like an embarrassment, _not only did this to herself, but is now dragging you down…_

As Adora’s shoulders first rose in anger, but then fell in resignation, as her face half turned for one last look at the other pod-bound girl, Catra’s heart broke into a million pieces. She did not even have the will to scream, to protest. After all, the facts spoke for themselves, she was here, paralysed, likely with little chance of recovery, given Lord Hordak’s dubious successes in reviving his old machines…

 _Shadow Weaver is right all along… I am a failure, I dragged others down_ , Catra thought as Adora slowly followed the sorceress out of the room. She could not even cry, as the pod’s liquid seemed to suck out her tears… But then, just as Catra consigned herself to an eternity of silence and blurred, greenish light, a new figure entered the room. Tall, imposing, its presence filled the room.

 _No... **NO!!!**_ Catra shouted through the rebreather in terror. _That’s impossible!!!_

“Hello, Little Sister...” Horde Prime smiled.

* * * * * * * * * *

A gasp. A start. A scream. Catra’s eyes opened, she realised she could move, could breathe normally. She was sitting on a bed, which was hanging from the ceiling of a spacious room, full of pastel purple and gray draperies, illuminated by a pale morning light. The room, she realized slowly, belonged to her and…

“H-Hey… Adora…?”, Catra’s voice held equal parts of relief and disbelief at the woman slowly waking up next to her.

“Catra... “, Adora yawned lazily, “what’s up, it's still dark…? Why you up…?”

“I…”, the former Horde Force Commander suddenly felt the voice in her throat catch, tears filled her eyes to the brim, and she turned her face away from Adora in embarrassment. Adora, must have noticed it despite her drowsiness, and was momentarily awake and alert.

“Catra?!”, She asked, touching the other woman’s arm, “What happened? Did something hurt you? Should I call the guards”, Adora exclaimed in one breath, her other hand clutching for some weapon.

“No! Stop making a fuss… I- I just had a… nightmare”, Catra replied, the last word not really spoken, but whispered shamefully.

“Was it…?” Adora’s gaze moved from Catra’s eyes to the level of her neck. Her voice was gentle, almost apologetic, but her brow raised questioningly.

Catra’s hand moved to the back of neck, where Horde Prime’s chip once was. “Yes… No… Some of it... “, she whispered, her eyes lowered. In response, Adora’s hand moved from her arm to the hand on her neck, caressed it gently.

“Catra,” Adora said with utter conviction in her eyes, “He is gone… you are yourself, I am here. And I will stay here, just like I promised.” Now both of them had eyes brimming with tears. Catra, like always, was the first to break eye contact and moved in closer, desperately embracing Adora, trying desperately not to cry. She broke off, looked at her partner’s calming blue eyes, the eyes that made her believe anything is possible…

“I love you.”

“You.. Love me?” Adora asked with raised eyebrows and a goofy smile.

“You… are such an idiot!” Catra replied and wiped that stupid grin with a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This little oneshot was something Issa engouraged me to write (read her stuff, its fun!). It reminded me how I loved this series... Hope you enjoy!


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